Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2008 To prohibit, as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, commercial sexual orientation conversion therapy, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 27, 2019 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. REED, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To prohibit, as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, com- mercial sexual orientation conversion therapy, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Therapeutic Fraud 4 Prevention Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2008 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or 3 gender nonconforming is not a disorder, disease, ill- 4 ness, deficiency, or shortcoming. 5 (2) The national community of professionals in 6 education, social work, health, mental health, and 7 counseling has determined that— 8 (A) there is no scientifically valid evidence 9 that supports the practice of attempting to pre- 10 vent a person from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, 11 transgender, or gender nonconforming; 12 (B) there is no evidence that conversion 13 therapy is effective or that an individual’s sex- 14 ual orientation or gender identity can be 15 changed by conversion therapy; and 16 (C) conversion therapy is substantially 17 dangerous to an individual’s mental and phys- 18 ical health, and has been shown to contribute to 19 depression, self-harm, low self-esteem, family 20 rejection, and suicide. 21 (3) It is in the interest of the Nation to prevent 22 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non- 23 conforming people and their families from being de- 24 frauded by persons seeking to profit by offering this 25 harmful and wholly ineffective therapy. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2008 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CONVERSION THERAPY.—The term ‘‘conver- 3 sion therapy’’— 4 (A) means any practice or treatment by 5 any person that seeks to change another indi- 6 vidual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, 7 including efforts to change behaviors or gender 8 expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or 9 romantic attractions or feelings toward individ- 10 uals of the same gender, if such person receives 11 monetary compensation in exchange for— 12 (i) such practice or treatment; or 13 (ii) a product or service that is inte- 14 gral to such practice or treatment by such 15 person, unless such product or service is 16 protected by the First Amendment to the 17 Constitution; and 18 (B) does not include any practice or treat- 19 ment, which does not seek to change sexual ori- 20 entation or gender identity, that— 21 (i) provides assistance to an individual 22 undergoing a gender transition; or 23 (ii) provides acceptance, support, and 24 understanding of a client or facilitation of 25 a client’s coping, social support, and iden- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2008 IS tity exploration and development, including 1 sexual orientation-neutral interventions to 2 prevent or address unlawful conduct or un- 3 safe sexual practices. 4 (2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 5 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 6 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 7 istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 8 designated sex at birth. 9 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 10 individual, partnership, corporation, cooperative, as- 11 sociation, or any other entity. 12 (4) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 13 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 14 or bisexuality. 15 SEC. 4. UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES RE- 16 LATED TO CONVERSION THERAPY. 17 (a) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—It shall be unlawful for 18 any person— 19 (1) to provide conversion therapy to any indi- 20 vidual if such person receives compensation in ex- 21 change for such services; 22 (2) to claim, in any advertisement for the provi- 23 sion of conversion therapy, that such therapy— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2008 IS (A) will change another individual’s sexual 1 orientation or gender identity; 2 (B) will eliminate or reduce sexual or ro- 3 mantic attractions or feelings toward individ- 4 uals of the same gender; or 5 (C) is harmless or without risk to individ- 6 uals receiving such therapy; or 7 (3) to knowingly assist or facilitate the provi- 8 sion of conversion therapy to an individual if such 9 person receives compensation from any source in 10 connection with providing conversion therapy. 11 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 12 SION.— 13 (1) VIOLATION OF RULE.—A violation of sub- 14 section (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule 15 defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre- 16 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 17 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 18 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade 20 Commission shall enforce this section in the 21 same manner, by the same means, and with the 22 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though 23 all applicable terms and provisions of the Fed- 24 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2008 IS seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 1 this Act. 2 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 3 person who violates subsection (a) shall be sub- 4 ject to the penalties, and entitled to the privi- 5 leges and immunities, provided in the Federal 6 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 7 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Federal Trade Com- 8 mission may promulgate, in accordance with section 9 553 of title 5, United States Code, such regulations 10 as the Commission considers appropriate to carry 11 out this section. 12 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the attorney general of a 14 State has reason to believe that an interest of the 15 residents of the State has been or is being threat- 16 ened or adversely affected by a practice that violates 17 subsection (a), the attorney general of the State 18 may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf 19 of the residents of the State in an appropriate dis- 20 trict court of the United States to obtain appro- 21 priate relief. 22 (2) RIGHTS OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 23 SION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2008 IS (A) NOTICE TO FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 1 SION.— 2 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 3 in clause (iii), the attorney general of a 4 State, before initiating a civil action under 5 paragraph (1), shall provide written notifi- 6 cation to the Federal Trade Commission 7 that the attorney general intends to bring 8 such civil action. 9 (ii) CONTENTS.—The notification re- 10 quired under clause (i) shall include a copy 11 of the complaint to be filed to initiate the 12 civil action. 13 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 14 for the attorney general of a State to pro- 15 vide the notification required under clause 16 (i) before initiating a civil action under 17 paragraph (1), the attorney general shall 18 notify the Commission immediately upon 19 instituting the civil action. 20 (B) INTERVENTION BY FEDERAL TRADE 21 COMMISSION.—The Commission may— 22 (i) intervene in any civil action 23 brought by the attorney general of a State 24 under paragraph (1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2008 IS (ii) upon intervening— 1 (I) be heard on all matters aris- 2 ing in the civil action; and 3 (II) file petitions for appeal of a 4 decision in the civil action. 5 (3) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—Nothing in this 6 subsection may be construed to prevent the attorney 7 general of a State from exercising the powers con- 8 ferred on the attorney general by the laws of the 9 State to conduct investigations, to administer oaths 10 or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of wit- 11 nesses or the production of documentary or other 12 evidence. 13 (4) PREEMPTIVE ACTION BY FEDERAL TRADE 14 COMMISSION.—If the Federal Trade Commission in- 15 stitutes a civil action or an administrative action 16 with respect to a violation of subsection (a), the at- 17 torney general of a State may not, during the pend- 18 ency of such action, bring a civil action under para- 19 graph (1) against any defendant named in the com- 20 plaint of the Commission for the violation with re- 21 spect to which the Commission instituted such ac- 22 tion. 23 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2008 IS (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 1 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 2 (i) the district court of the United 3 States that meets applicable requirements 4 relating to venue under section 1391 of 5 title 28, United States Code; or 6 (ii) another court of competent juris- 7 diction. 8 (B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 9 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 10 served in any district in which— 11 (i) the defendant is an inhabitant, 12 may be found, or transacts business; or 13 (ii) venue is proper under section 14 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 15 (6) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to a civil 17 action brought by an attorney general under 18 paragraph (1), any other officer of a State who 19 is authorized by the State to do so may bring 20 a civil action under paragraph (1), subject to 21 the same requirements and limitations that 22 apply under this subsection to civil actions 23 brought by attorneys general. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2008 IS (B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this 1 subsection may be construed to prohibit an au- 2 thorized official of a State from initiating or 3 continuing any proceeding in a court of the 4 State for a violation of any civil or criminal law 5 of the State. 6 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 7 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 8 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un- 9 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and its applica- 10 tion to any person or circumstance shall not be affected 11 by such holding. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS